WhatsApp Updates Android App With Quick Replies And Other Goodies

No longer will we have to go into a chat to reply

WhatsApp (Android, iOS) loves pulling new surprises out of the bag. Recently, the updates have been coming in thick and fast - and the world's favorite messaging app has set its users' tongues wagging for not always the right reasons either: "$1 a year? No way, José!" - "Selling my chats to Facebook? I didn't sign up to THAT!"

But the latest change looks to be GOOD news. A new update for its Android app (currently available for beta testers and coming to the rest of the world very soon) has introduced a whole bunch of interesting new features that are about to make communicating even quicker and easier.

In version 2.12.560 of the app, we'll get multiple chat selection, and be able to perform simultaneous actions on contacts and groups. But the most important change has to be the Quick Reply function. From now on, we will no longer open the conversation to answers someone; and there'll be no need to let others see if we're online or not. We can respond directly, via a magically appearing notification window, without wasting time to open the application.

The most recent update lets us select multiple conversations at once (before we had to do it one at a time) to perform actions such like adding shortcuts, archiving, deleting, muting, or even marking as read. Cleaning contacts will also be much faster and more effective.

Finally, for all you customization lovers out there, WhatsApp is also introducing a new wallpaper selector - a feature that came in an earlier version but has been modified, - that allows you to choose a custom background photo, or block color, for those who prefer a more sober look.